


Warrior, Princess, Evil Queen

by SirDigbey



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), Xena: Warrior Princess
Genre: Action/Adventure, Fantasy, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-09
Updated: 2015-04-09
Packaged: 2018-03-22 00:56:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3709107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SirDigbey/pseuds/SirDigbey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Xena and Gabrielle find themselves lost in the Enchanted Forest, caught in a conflict between the renegade princess Snow White and the reigning Evil Queen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

"Tell me dear, what made you think you could sneak into my vault without getting caught?"

Gabrielle inspected her interrogator. She wore a felt purple dress with black velvet decorations. The thin black velvet encompassing her very generous cleavage extended all the way up to her collar, which rose unusually tall behind her neck, making it seem longer than it really was. As if by extension, the strange woman's charcoal black hair was held up in a black and purple cloth, adding to her stature. Her firm posture implied sternness and endless self-confidence – intimidating all by itself.

"I just got lost, really" Gabrielle tried to stall as she fiddled with the ropes holding her hands together behind her back. "I was looking for my friend. We got separated, you see, and she really doesn't like it when…"

"Do you take me for a fool?" the woman interrupted Gabrielle calmly, and snapped her fingers in the air. Immediately the ropes tightened around Gabrielle's wrists and legs and before she knew it her hands were flung up in the air, pulling her upwards until she was hanging with her bound feet a couple of inches off the ground. The chair she was sitting on just moments earlier disappeared in a puff of purple smoke, and as she tried looking back to see what was holding her up, a wooden pole appeared in another purple cloud that quickly dissipated.

The woman flung her fingers in a circular motion towards her, and all of a sudden Gabrielle found herself hanging from the pole, her hands now tied behind it.

Was this woman a witch? A Goddess, perhaps?

"Let me go!" she exclaimed, testing the strength of her bonds by wiggling this way and that.

The magical woman approached to take a closer look at the captured bard. Gabrielle tried to escape her penetrating gaze, projecting all sorts of unintelligible threats as the woman grabbed her by the jaw and turned her head directly at her so she could stare right into her eyes.  
"That's no way to talk to a queen!" she said, examining the bard's face – turning it this way and that.

"You better let me go!" Gabrielle muttered. "I'm a queen too, you know!"

The Evil Queen paused for a moment and laughed. "You? A queen?"  
She took a step back and examined Gabrielle's clothes. The short leather skirt and the green knitted halter-top were anything but regal. "You look more like a circus performer" she said with contempt and snickered as she turned away and paced around a little.

"I'm the Queen of the Amazons" Gabrielle exclaimed. "And I…"

"So tell me, Queen of the Amazons" the Evil Queen interrupted. "Why shouldn't I kill you right here, right now?"

"I…" Gabrielle was stumped. "Because, well…."

And then, just as Gabrielle realized that she was running out of time, a rumbling sound of clashing swords and screaming men came from the hall outside. With her eyes gleaming and a smile on her face, Gabrielle then proudly announced: "Because of her!"

The Evil Queen turned towards the door of her great hall with surprise and anger as a loud familiar battle-cry rolled through the halls and as the sound of clinging swords stopped.

The two guards stationed inside the hall approached the great doors with their weapons drawn, but before they could do anything the doors flew open, knocking them down and revealing a leather-clad woman with a sword in her hand, fallen foes at her back and a thunderous rage in her eyes.

"And who are you supposed to be?" The Evil Queen didn't flinch, but was obviously very upset.

"My name is Xena" the woman said, pointing her sword directly at the Queen. "And you have something of mine".


	2. Mythical

 

# Mythical

"Would you look at that?"

"Xena, she's beautiful!" Gabrielle whispered, trying not to alarm the majestic creature. "Or he," she added unsure.

"No, it's a she" Xena confirmed. "Unicorns are all female."

"Wait, what?" Gabrielle turned her head in confusion. "So how do they…"

"Don't ask, It's complicated" Xena said without taking her gaze of the pure-white single-horned horse. "Besides, they obviously don't – as this is probably the last one in existence."

"That's a shame" Gabrielle leaned onto her staff, sighing. "She really is beautiful."

Another moment passed and as the duo was staring at the Unicorn just standing there on the hilltop boringly chewing on some plant, suddenly Xena saw movement in the peripheral of her eye, and immediately snapped to attention.

"Oh no!" she grabbed Gabrielle by the shirt and pointed at the moving figure. "Look!"

"Argo, no!" Gabrielle said disappointed, sure that the old warhorse would scare the Unicorn back into hiding.

To their surprise, while the Unicorn did notice Argo's careful approach, she didn't flinch but instead just wiggled her ears back and forth, curious more than anything. Argo had a curious look about her as well, having never seen or smelled such a strange creature before, so while she approached carefully she kept sniffing and examining her new friend's hooves, her coat – and eventually her horn.

The Unicorn let Argo inspect and sniff her, all the while examining her as well. Realizing she was friendly, she started rubbing her neck against Argo's and eventually the two started running circles around each other, neighing and growling playfully.

"That's amazing" Gabrielle was almost hypnotized by the dance. "This is the first Unicorn sighting in almost two hundred years, and Argo's playing with her like they're old friends."

Xena was equally impressed, and somewhat proud. "I've never seen her like this" Xena slowly started walking towards the two creatures. Gabrielle cautiously followed, and once the Unicorn spotted them she turned to flee but Argo ran around her and blocked her escape path, neighing calmly. Once the Unicorn stopped, Argo walked slowly towards Xena – who reached out and caressed her behind the ear as the old horse chuckled.

The Unicorn, seeing that her new friend and the two new figures that emerged from the bushes were friends, cautiously turned and approached them slowly. Xena stayed by Argo's side, as Gabrielle put down her staff and approached the Unicorn with both her arms reaching forward. The creature snorted and shook its head, as the bard slowly approached her and eventually – slowly and carefully, put her open arms on the Unicorn's mane and rustled her hands through it, petting and caressing the creature's neck.

Xena watched with joy as Gabrielle befriended the thought-to-be-extinct animal, and all of a sudden both Argo and the Unicorn started exchanging happy neighs and grunts, until the Unicorn suddenly and decisively pulled away from Gabrielle and turned from her.

"No, it's ok!" Gabrielle tried to assure it, thinking she might have somehow scared it.

The Unicorn now stood on her two back feet, and Argo seemed to have chuckled. She was showing off, Xena realized – but then all of a sudden she dropped back to the ground and started galloping around them. She ran around them in a circle once or twice, then stopped – stared Argo directly in the eye for a moment, and Xena could have sworn Argo nodded at her just before the Unicorn launched into another sprint around the group. This time she didn't stop.

"Xena!" Gabrielle walked back slowly and picked up her staff. "What's going on?"

"I'm not sure, stay close" Xena said, tightening her grip on Argo's reign in one hand and feeling for her Chakram in the other. The Unicorn ran faster and faster, until it suddenly seemed as if it was running _too_ fast – faster than it should be able to.

Argo was now getting restless as well, but Xena managed to keep her down from jumping and kicking – all the while a wall of wind and dust was forming in a circle around them, following the Unicorn's frantic gallop.

"What's she doing?" Gabrielle yelled out, as the noise of the hooves hitting the ground was starting to intensify, along with the gushing wind circling them. They were in the eye of what seemed to be a circular storm of dust and wind, when suddenly it was accompanied by clouds and flashing lightning.

"Xena!" Gabrielle screamed as she covered her eyes to protect it from the rising dust.

"Gabrielle!" Xena was trying to find her companion while still holding on to Argo, but she couldn't see a thing as they were now encompassed by the raging tornado.

They could faintly hear the Unicorn neighing once more, before a thunderous explosion hit them both, knocking them into what seemed to first be a flash of light – and then darkness. 


	3. Enchanted

# Enchanted

"Gabrielle!" Xena shook her knocked out partner. "Gabrielle, wake up!"

"What? Xena?" Gabrielle rubbed the back of her head as she slowly tried to recover. "What happened?"

Xena didn't remember much more than Gabrielle did. The last thing she could recall before being knocked out cold was thinking how surprisingly calm Argo was as the Unicorn they had just befriended created a tornado around them.

"Are you alright?" Xena inspected Gabrielle's head for injuries, but luckily the bard just seemed slightly shocked but not physically harmed.

"I think so" Gabrielle slowly recovered and started looking around her. The first thing she noticed was that they were now suddenly in a forest. And not the usual boulder-and-bark forest they were used to, this one was much greener, as if they've gone far north. The sweet smell of petrichor and wet grass flooded her nostrils, and while refreshing – it really struck her as unusual. The season was wrong, especially for the shore-side field they were just in. Obviously, she realized, they were no longer there.

"Where are we?" She asked Xena, who was now inspecting the area around them, quite tense.

"I'm not sure" Xena was crouched next to a large tree, "But we're far away from Greece, that's for sure."

"How can you tell?" Gabrielle almost regretted asking.

"The trees" Xena gestured towards the tree right next to her. "They're not even close to what you'd expect to see in 'our' area."

Gabrielle should not have been surprised by that point at how many skills Xena had, but she really didn't expect botany to be one of them.

The bard herself started looking around, and the first thing she noticed was that there was no sign of Argo or the Unicorn anywhere. Looking around them, she found what seemed to be hoof-steps, going away further into the woods. Gabrielle turned to call Xena, but she had already noticed them, and was inspecting them closely.

"This is Argo" she said as she looked closer at the ground. "And it looks like she was following an un-shoed horse, probably our new magical friend."

"I don't know about that" Gabrielle said. "Friends don't usually trap you in a magical tornado and transport to you a foreign land."

Xena chuckled and started following the steps on the ground. "Come on," she said to Gabrielle. "Let's go find our horse, and maybe a way back home."

Gabrielle looked around her one more time, and turned to follow Xena. Whatever that place was, it felt very – very strange. She tightened the grip on her staff and followed Xena's footsteps, carefully tracing her steps as to disturb as little of the environment as possible and leave as few traces as they could. As Xena tracked the two runaway horses, they arrived at what seemed to be a road. No a fancy roman road like they were used to seeing, but just a clear path in the woods, flat and naturally rocky. They followed the path until suddenly the tracks went off the road and down a hill, deeper into the cover of the woods. Finally, after passing some large boulders and huge ancient-looking trees, a huge lake emerged in front of them, and at its banks stood Argo and the Unicorn, gnawing on grassroots. As they approached the shore the whole size and majesty of the lake appeared before them, stunning and frightening in its magnificence.

Gabrielle was especially taken by the scenery – with the forest running forever in all directions alongside the shores of the lake, and huge majestic mountains towering on the other side, hardly even visible on account of how far the other side of the lake was. A low fog was covering the water, and she figured that on a cloudy day she probably couldn't even see the other side, and would most likely have mistaken the lake for the sea. Except the water looked much calmer and clearer than any sea or lake she's ever seen before.

"There you are, girl" Xena went up to Argo and rubbed her neck. "Went to get a drink without me, did you?"

Xena couldn't believe such a huge lake had water that was drinkable, but as she kneeled down to taste the water she was taken by how sweet and clear they were. Slowly examining the horizon, she noticed how the mountains over the horizon were all thickly covered with snow, which she figured explained the sweetness of the water.

Xena also couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. They were in a perfect spot to be ambushed, and although they haven't seen a single person since they arrived at this strange land, the high and thick woods around them and the single, narrow passageway they had to go through to get to that shore all made her highly suspicious. And then she spotted him – a single caped observer, possibly an archer, observing them from the top of one of the trees on the mound above the passageway back to the main road. Their camouflage was actually not bad, Xena thought to herself, but it wasn't enough to escape the warrior's trained eye.

"Let's go" she said out loud and grabbed Argo by the reigns, starting to lead her back to the passage. As she passed by Gabrielle, she muttered "there's someone trying to ambush us up on the left". Gabrielle knew better than to look up herself, but she tightened the grip on her staff and turned to look at the Unicorn, who seemed to be following Argo.

As they reached closer to the ambush point Xena slowed down and turned to Argo as if she was about to take something out of the satchel, but instead she suddenly turned, unleashing her Chakram into the air and directly through the branch their watcher was sitting on.

As the Chakram hit another tree or two and returned to Xena's hands, she and Gabrielle approached the fallen stalker who was trying to get their balance back and stand back up.

The stranger was covered in rags, donning a hood and a quiver. Xena quickly picked up the bow from the ground to disarm the stranger, who slowly gained ground and turned to them. The hooded stranger started pulling back their cowl, revealing a pinkish round face and long curly black hair.

"You're just a girl!" Gabrielle exclaimed, more surprised than she probably should have been.

"A…" the stranger started replying, but Xena cut her off – "A woman."

The stranger smiled and looked at Xena approvingly. "Finally," she said to their bafflement.

"My name is Snow. I didn't mean to spy on you, but I could have sworn you were with a Unicorn earlier."

"I'm Xena, and this is Gabrielle" Xena introduced themselves. "And as a matter of fact," she paused and turned to the Unicorn they have not yet named.

Snow's jaw dropped and suddenly everything else shut off but the image of the magnificent creature standing calmly before her.

"Is he…" she started approaching it slowly, and Gabrielle corrected her: "She".

"How can she be real?" she seemed really taken with the creature, as she slowly approached her and started feeling the horn, trying to see if it may be fake.

"We're as lost as you are" Xena replied. "So lost in fact… Where are we?"

Snow White didn't turn away from the creature, and it seemed as if she hadn't even heard Xena's question. "What's her name?" she asked instead.

"We… we don't know" Gabrielle was surprised she hadn't thought of it herself.

"Snow, where exactly are we? How far away are we from Greece?"

"I've never heard of Greece" Snow finally replied. "And this kingdom has had many names over the years, so we just call it The Forest."

"That's helpful" Gabrielle muttered.

"Who are 'we'"? Xena inquired. Perhaps someone else would know how to direct them better.

"I have sort of a… council" Snow finally turned to them. "You two must be extremely lost, come, I can offer you a warm supper and shelter for the night. Maybe someone back at the castle could better guide you back home"

"It is getting unusually cold" Gabrielle said to Xena, who just warily frowned.

"No thank you, we just need instructions to the nearest town."

"The nearest… town?" Snow turned to the Unicorn. "You don't understand, some people would kill for something as precious as this. You wouldn't be safe!"

"I figured as much" Xena said, gesturing with her eyes at Snow's dagger, clumsily hidden underneath her belt.

"Oh no, not me" Snow said. "If I wanted to…"

" ** _You_** _'d_ already be dead" Xena turned it around. She knew Snow meant no harm, but she was still cautious. Something told her she could trust her.

"Come with me, I insist. At least for the night. Besides, _Charming_ would never believe me otherwise!"

"Charming?" Gabrielle inquired, amused.

"David," Snow corrected herself. "My husband!"


	4. Charming

# Charming

They started riding east. Gabrielle rode with Xena on Argo, following Snow White's leather-armored horse. The Unicorn, to their surprise, followed them without even a hitch. She seemed to be following Argo, actually.

They rode along the shore of the great lake until from across the waters they could see their destination; the royal castle was built high on a rocky island, hanging impossibly tall in the air over a broken-away cliff. It was connected to an adjacent piece of land through a stone-built bridge, and it was obvious to Xena that it was impregnable - the only way in or out was through that bridge, which provided an excellent protection but also made it impossible to escape should the need arise. Still, it didn't feel like a trap to her; she had a pretty good sense of people, as did Argo, and she trusted this Snow White person.

Gabrielle wasn't thinking anywhere near as tactically as Xena, but instead was admiring the view. She was completely taken by the beautiful scenery; the tall snowy mountains over the shimmering lake provided an enchanting backdrop to the strange castle that hung before them. She couldn't believe how strange and foreign the architecture was, and realized they must have been really - REALLY far away from Greece. Farther then they ever were before, she noted to herself.

After hitching Argo near the gate and making sure the Unicorn stayed just close enough to not get lost but not too close to be noticed, the trio entered the main hall where a group of men and women were standing around in battle armor, obviously discussing battle tactics. Gabrielle couldn't help but notice the diversity of the people there. From old men and women who were obviously farmers to very richly dressed diplomats, they all seemed very foreign and diverse. Upon noticing that all eyes in the hall were fixed on them, it dawned on Gabrielle that she and Xena were the foreign-looking ones.

"Snow!" a man yelled from across the hall and started running towards them. The man was a combination of all the other people in the room, in a way. He wore a regal coat and a large sword hung from his belt. He was obviously the leader of this group, and obviously not very comfortable with that title.

"Charming!" Snow leaped into his arms and everyone around them smiled and went back to their business.

"I was beginning to get worried, you were gone too long" he said after kissing her.

"You worry too much" she said. "I met some new friends along the way."

"Of course you did" he said, almost disapprovingly, and turned to Xena and Gabrielle.

"I'm Prince David" he sent his hand forward to shake theirs. "But everybody calls me _Charming_."

"I'm sure they do" Xena shook his hand and exchanged an amused look with Gabrielle. "I'm Xena, and this is Gabrielle."

"They're a little lost, and I offered them shelter and perhaps some help getting back home." Snow explained.

"Of course" he said. "We have plenty of guest rooms, and you're welcome to stay for as long as you need."

"There's something else" Snow gleamed and pulled him by the arm. "Come on!"

* * *

 

Charming reacted to the Unicorn like an excited little child. He's heard of Unicorns in stories, but never imagined he'd ever see one for himself. He then ordered his personal guard to create a perimeter around her just far enough so she doesn't feel threatened, to make sure nobody comes near her. She didn't seem to be going anywhere anyway, they speculated. She wanted to remain next to Xena's horse it seemed.

They reconvened in the castle and Charming sent out for his war council.

"They're some of the most knowledgeable people - and other things - in the land" Snow assured them. "If anyone knows how to get you back home, it's them."

"Thank you, we appreciate the help" Gabrielle said as Snow escorted them to their chambers.

"They'll all be here tomorrow" Snow said. "In the meantime, go get some rest - we've had the room heated and the beds made just for you."

* * *

Xena and Gabrielle entered their room and were taken by how luxurious and overly decorated it was. There was a large dining table in the corner covered with a deep-red silk tablecloth with a large silver fruit bowl in the middle, filled with an assortment of fresh fruit. The chairs around the table were all of the finest wood, with soft pillows sown right into them.

The stone walls were covered with heavily framed drawings, some of people and some of landscapes. The far wall had a burning fireplace in it and the floor was covered with a large and impressive carpet.

The large glass doors facing the balcony were the real treat, though. With the heavy drapes pulled aside, they could see the stone balcony facing directly to the great lake, upon which the moon and the stars' reflections shimmered and gave a blueish tint to the room that was otherwise pulsating with the orange fiery glow of the hearth fire.

Xena wanted to turn back and tell them that it was all too much, but the door was already closed behind them, and they were alone. Gabrielle was already halfway through the room and headed out the balcony, hypnotized by the tantalizing vista.

Xena quietly followed her gasping partner. The bard leaned on the stone wall of the balcony and stared into the distance.

"It's so beautiful" she said quietly, sensing that Xena was right behind her.

"It is" Xena basked in the view herself. She looked up at the bright clear skies and suddenly it dawned on her how alien it looked.

"Gabrielle", she said in a serious tone. "I don't think we're anywhere near the known world anymore."

She walked up behind her and pointed up at the skies. "Look, none of the constellations are there".

Gabrielle, ever the dreamer - was suddenly pulled down to earth reality from her stargazing by Xena's words falling warmly on the back of her neck. She glanced back across her shoulder, as if to reassure herself that Xena was indeed as close to her as she had hoped, keeping her ever safe and warm as she always did, and then looked back up to the skies.

Xena was right. Not only were the stars unrecognizable, but the moon also appeared different. Bigger and bluer, the markings on it different and bizarre. They were as lost as they could ever possibly be.

"We'll be alright" Gabrielle said, quite surely. "Snow and Charming seem kind and genuine. I'm sure they can help us get back home."

Xena didn't say a word. Despite their hosts' intentions, which she also believed to be true, she doubted they had the power to help them. Her silence may have given away her feelings of doubt, but she didn't want to discourage Gabrielle. She also noticed Gabrielle was shivering - it was colder than they were accustomed to, but she knew it wasn't the reason; Gabrielle was scared, much as she tried to hide it.

"We'll be alright" Gabrielle tried to reassure herself and took a deep breath. It was then that she turned around, now facing Xena's reassuring stature, her deep blue eyes lit by the moon and starlight. Xena smiled with compassion, and moved away a stray strand of hair from Gabrielle's face, gently caressing her cheek with the back of her hand in the process. The bard's cheeks were soft and warm to the touch against Xena cold and stiff hands, but she didn't flinch. Instead Gabrielle just gave in to her partner's touch, leaning against her sweet caress.

"Always the optimist" Xena smiled and kissed her gently on the forehead. "And besides, it doesn't matter if we find our way home or not - so long as we're together."

Gabrielle pulled herself closer to Xena, who in return hugged her firmly. "I guess you are my home" Gabrielle whispered intimately from under Xena's embrace.

"And you are mine" Xena looked down at the bard and kissed her, as clouds started covering the moon and darkening the skies.  


End file.
